Outcasts
by Scarab Lady
Summary: Five teens live in a world shunned by humanity because of what they are. Powers are misused and there is little hope, but they come together... and manage to pull through the worst time of their lives. Read from the beginning, I've changed a lot!
1. Chapter 1

As you can see, I've changed some stuff.

Teen Titans? Not mine. Understand?

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A howl rang throughout the night.

A grin crossed the face of a goth girl as several vases shattered.

A creak came from a roof as a thief crept into a building, freeze-disc at the ready.

A metal man dropped his cargo with a loud thud.

A loud explosion as a ship landed and a girl was dropped.

What might have been the teen titans in a different life were now on the other side of their lives. They now were outcasts of society. One a thief, one a demon, one a monster, one a mindless robot, and one… one in exile.

This story is not only about the last one, but all the others as well, and how they came together.

-- -- -- -- --

Starfire winced as she hit the ground. Her sister, Blackfire, called down cruelly to her.

"Thought you could push me out of my rightful place, dear sister? Well, you know the punishment for treachery… exile! You are a Tamaranian no longer. We will never speak your name again, and you will be forgotten as you live your life out on this miserable little planet. No one is here to save you. Good bye, Starfire. That was the last time your name will be spoken." She said this last bit with a sneer. The ship slowly hauled up its boarding ramp.

Starfire stared, dry-eyed, as she heard her sister chuckle. No. Blackfire was her sister no longer. She had no one to go to, that was true. She would be forgotten, and no one would help her. She didn't even know the language of this strange little planet.

She was alone, forever and always.

-- -- -- -- --

The vases shattered far too easily for Raven. She wanted a challenge, something that wouldn't break or shatter in an instant. Bored, she lifted the shards and flung them at the concrete wall. They tinkled to the ground. She wished that she had a book, preferably something dark, with angst. But no! She couldn't even step inside a bookstore without someone flinging a cross at her! They seemed to think that she was evil, a demon, or a vampire. Of course she wasn't evil! They couldn't accept the fact that she was different. She wasn't scary!

That made her angry, of course. She whipped around and furiously, recklessly, smashed several crates together. She hadn't looked to see what was in them: fireworks, whiskey, and something flammable. The resulting explosion made her feel much better, even though it was far too bright. After critically watching the remains of the crates smolder for a bit, she decided to split the scene before someone came to investigate. She knew that someone would, and soon.

She lifted herself from the ground and swooped over the buildings surrounded in darkness below.

-- -- -- -- --

A noise ripped the silence of the night. A box on the ground showed what had fallen. A man's shadow was illuminated in a doorway. He glared at the robot that had done the deed and began yelling at it, all the while knowing that this would do no good. The robot's mind was a blank slate, all memory and the ability to think having been erased long ago. Finally, he gave one last order and went back inside.

The robot automatically moved to retrieve the fallen box and stopped.

Thoughts rippled the surface of its mind. _Cyborg_, it thought with sudden clarity. It- no, he!- began to slowly turn on all of the functions that had disintegrated over the years. A red light started blinking in one of the eyes. He looked around, wondering how he could have gotten here. Dirt and grime streaked his blue circuits. Rusty metal creaked as joints that hadn't been oiled in years were moved. He heard and saw these things that had been ignored for so long. He blinked and reached up to touch his head. Something didn't feel right. He wasn't complete. He knew what it was. Metal was carefully ripped from certain parts of his body. At last, he was as he had been so long ago.

He didn't know what had caused him to start up again, but he was glad. One thing was certain: he knew that people hated him because there was nothing like him. The cruel man had only kept him because he did work.

He looked around one last time, then stumped off into the darkness.

-- -- -- -- --

Robin grinned carelessly, swinging down to the floor. That creak had been a mistake on his part, but no one had noticed. He looked around and spotted what he had come for. On a stand surrounded by cameras was a priceless microchip. He laughed quietly to himself as he began the night's work. He flung his freeze-disks at the cameras and, once all they recorded was ice, leapt lightly onto the stand and snagged the chip, putting it into one of the many pockets on his outfit. He immediately slipped a twin of the chip onto the stand. This one, however, would blow up as soon as it was entered into any type of technology.

He carefully set the room temperature so that the ice would melt off of the cameras. They would think that the cameras had malfunctioned for a bit, and that was all.

He leapt out of the open trapdoor and chuckled as he headed into the darkness that was downtown Jump City.

-- -- -- -- --

A beast leaped from roof to roof, occasionally letting a wild, savage howl tear from his throat. At times like these, he didn't know who he was, but he did know what he was, and what he was doing. They, those humans who despised him and feared him, called him the Beast Boy. He was only sixteen.

All he knew now, however, was that he was Himself, and he had just finished the Hunt.

The Hunt was vitally important to his survival. If he didn't undertake it, he might not survive in this harsh reality. But now he had finished, and could go back to the form that supported his body six days a week. He could, as a matter of fact, change whenever he pleased, but it tired him.

He found a nice, dark alley and sat in a corner. For some reason, he was always exhausted when returning to the original body. It also hurt; the feel of bones and muscles shifting beneath your skin isn't the most pleasant of feelings.

It happened. Bones ground together as they moved and shrank, fur was shed off onto the cold pavement, fangs and claws retracted into skin. He howled in agony, and it swiftly turned to a human scream. He collapsed and fell into blessed oblivion.


	2. Chapter 2

OK, here are my pairings... RobinxStarfire and BeastboyxRaven. Don't worry, all, my chapters start getting longer here. Enjoy!

Starfire sat as she was for hours, contemplating what had happened. She wasn't sure what to do next, that was certain. She had to do something, but what? She knew full well that she had none to go to in times of need like this here. She felt no sadness, nor anger, just a throbbing ache in her chest. The night air didn't help matters any; it was full of some sort of smog or pollution that smelled positively horrible.

Finally, she rose from her seat on the cold ground and set out to wander. Barely anyone was out at this time of night, so she mainly went unnoticed. Those who were out seemed very intoxicated and looked right through her. Tall buildings were everywhere. It was impossible to see over them. Bright signs lit the dirty streets. Every so often, she came across someone sleeping in the shadows.

After about an hour or so of this, Starfire found something different. A very wide strip of road was in front of her. It turned a sharp corner and went out of sight. Many strange, loud things roared across it to vanish around the bend. She couldn't cross it on foot without getting crushed. She would have to do it the other way. As a matter of fact, she couldn't figure out why she hadn't resorted to this mode of transportation long ago, and immediately soared gracefully into the air. Now a good distance above the ground, she was astonished to find that the city stretched on into the distance. She couldn't see an end to the lights that covered it.

Now, she wished more than ever that she was at home, for this place was far more alien than ever before. People who didn't see her, things that zoomed around without any regard as to anything else, and much more! Her eyes stung. She shivered. Her thin outfit was no protection against the chill winds that blew fiercely up here.

She fought against tears that were threatening to spill out over her cheeks. The more she tried, the more her eyes hurt, and a sob pushed its way out of her throat. Tears won out and started their relentless downpour. All she could so was float there and cry her heart out. There was nothing else for her to do.

As her sobs began slowing, she looked at her situation logically. She would have to eat, but she didn't even know the native language, much less be able to buy food! That was one of the more major problems. To get anything done here, she would have to learn the language. She would have to meet someone who knew the language that she needed to learn. Unfortunately, she was terribly shy. Her sister had been the brave one. She would have marched right up to someone and found some way to get out of her predicament. Starfire wasn't like that at all. All of the signs that she had encountered were, to her, confusing jumbles of twisted figures. The letters themselves were far different.

Starfire could find no way out of the confusing mess that her sister's actions had put her in.


	3. Chapter 3

Raven slowly drifted to the edge of the city. She had blown up everything that she wanted to for today, and was tired from her exertions. She looked around to find that dark little café where no one commented on her clothes, how she acted, or anything. This was because in that part of town, it wasn't uncommon to sit there, drinking a cup of tea at a solitary table while reading a fat book of gothic poetry. She went there every day, and by now, the waitress knew her order.

It was spotted, and she came to rest in a lightless alley right beside there. In the darkness, she had made herself a bolt-hole; she went there all the time when she didn't feel like facing the world. It was either that or to sleep. She picked up her single book of poetry and left the alley.

Raven silently slipped into The Dark Omen, for that was what the café was called, and sat at her usual corner table. The waitress saw her and nodded. Within a few minutes, she came by with a steaming mug and a pot. Raven was left alone once more.

For all she knew, hours could have passed while she read. She was absorbed in her book when she smelled smoke. It wasn't from this particular building, but a few blocks down, someone's house had caught fire. People here didn't even look up from their conversations or reading. She, however, was interested.

The tea was abandoned as she solemnly walked out. Her quiet demeanor was dropped as soon as she was out of the place. She eagerly flew up to investigate. Much to her disappointment, the building had already collapsed in on itself when she arrived. There wasn't even much fire anymore, and the local firefighters promptly fixed that. She needed a good, proper flame. The onlookers edged slowly away from her; she barely noticed. Finally, Raven grew bored and left.

She didn't feel like returning to that café, but she didn't feel like wandering, either. She decided to go to the edge of the city, where the wind blew fiercely. It whipped her cloak about like a rag, and Raven laughed. In a way, the wind was like a kitten, playing with everything within its reach and not caring if something was destroyed as a result.

She spotted something sitting on a roof. Around here, roof-walkers were thieves, and this mysterious figure looked like nothing of the sort. She couldn't be too sure, however, as it lunged to its feet upon sight of her. A closer look proved it to be a boy, adolescent at that. He wore a small mask over his eyes, which really did nothing to hide his identity. He also wore jeans and a long-sleeved tee in dusty black, common clothes for a thief. One of his pockets bulged; he had obviously just finished his nightly run.

She landed in front of him, silently, as he stood his ground.

"Hello. Name's Robin. And you?"


	4. Chapter 4

Just to reassure some fears, there will _not_ be any robinxraven. I am not a shipper of that, and if you wish to check, I placed the pairings in Chapter 7.

Cyborg walked as quietly as he could(which wasn't quiet at all) in the darker alleys of downtown. He had been wandering for sometime now, and wondered when the scenery would change. He got his wish; somehow his meandering path had gone right past downtown and gone, by means of several indirect routes, to the outer city. Trees were abundant here, and winds gently whisked around him. He saw something medium-sized and shaped vaguely humanoid in the sky, but decided that it was some debris picked up by the storm that was brewing.

He knew, somehow, that during the time when he hadn't a mind he had gotten incredibly far behind in technology. Every bit of it that he had went back to several years ago. It would cost money, lots of it, that he didn't have to replace even some of it. That was bad. He had been due for a check-up for several years at the mechanics. He also knew that the mechanic had already been replaced by someone new and inexperienced. If he hadn't, then he would be extremely old and barely able to do much of anything. It _had_ been six years, and back then, the guy had already been seventy! His own parents lived hours away. He couldn't even go to them; he simply didn't have the power stored up. He wished he did; it would save a lot of trouble. He didn't even have anything to power up with! The man owning him did, of course, but-

That was it! He could simply take the recharger! It wasn't as if the man didn't have enough money to buy a new one. With this wonderful new idea, he set out to go where he had been used and was hated… was still hated.

After hours of getting lost and finding the way again, Cyborg saw the familiar sign of a wrench crossing a screwdriver, representing a fix-it shop. All he had done there was move loose parts for the owner.

He found the back gate and put his eye to the scanner. He had been entered in the records a while back, and could come and go as his 'master' needed him. The small bit of machinery beeped, and the gate opened. All of the necessary equipment was in the back. He had to move quickly; the man would be out for his nightly check soon. He looked around- there! In the corner, a little dusty from bad care, was the battery recharger. He just had to unseal the lock… and… there. It was free. He picked it up easily, surprised at the light weight. It wasn't as heavy as he had once surmised.

Cyborg hurried out the gate, encumbered by the bulky machinery. Just before he turned the corner, he saw a light flicker on in the yard. He quickened his pace and made it safely to an alley. Then he remembered that the eye-scanner recorded things such as this, and set down the recharger in the blackest corner. If he was lucky, the man wouldn't check the entry records before morning. He turned the corner again and went to the gate. The man had already gone to bed, as was evident by the darkness in the upper floors of the building.

After a swift check, he saw that no one had recently checked the records. A bit of hacking and he was 'inside' the small computer. A bit more hacking and the records seemed undisturbed. The only entries shown were made by the man.

"Booyah!" he whispered, remembering just in time that he was just below the bedroom window. With that, he turned and went to collect his new battery recharger. What he saw there was something utterly new. In a corner opposite the one with the recharger was a small, wiry teen that was, apparently, unconscious. A closer look nearly made his jaw drop in surprise.

The boy's skin was _green_.


	5. Chapter 5

Expect an unexpected visitor... and an unwanted one at that. There will be a hint here. Mwahahahaha!

Robin sat down on an isolated roof and mentally checked his list items to snag. He had only begun, after all. There were at least ten items to get, and he had just gotten one. The next stop was a laboratory near the edges of the city. He had been planning on getting that one last, but he felt like getting it now. For one thing, it was a bit more challenging than the other sections he planned to hit. He retraced the route in his mind and leapt off of the roof he had been resting on. The night was darker than usual; an unforeseen advantage. The radio had said that skies would be clear and bright tonight, but oh well.

After a while of jumping from roof to roof, Robin paused to scan the horizon. A tingle of unease ran up his spine, and that in and of itself was unusual. Most of the time, when stealing, he felt relaxed and loose. He was tense and nervous, and that didn't sit well with his common sense. If he had been willing to forgo this trip, he would have, but he really wanted what was there. He started up again, but with more caution than before. He eventually reached his destination and slipped into the door on the top of the building. He had checked out the scene the night before and knew where the goods, his entrance, and his exit were. The entrance and the exit were far apart. He didn't want someone to see him go in and guard that spot.

Once inside, he went down the hall, a silent shadow to the naked eye. There were many twists and turns on the way, but Robin had already mapped them out. At last, he reached the inner chamber, where a delicate, yet powerful piece of equipment awaited his loving touch on a stand surrounded by fine wires. You had to look closely to see them, and Robin knew that. He inched forward and took out a small wire cutter. Suddenly, he paused. Was that a ripple of electricity running across the wires? Yes, it was. If the metal wire cutter touched it, it could be melted out of position and Robin could be given a large shock. Standing back, he took out a small piece of yarn and threw it between the wires. It landed on the stand unharmed. While he could try to hook the miniature machine and pull it through the wires, it was too big. What he could do, however…

He fished around in his pocket for some strong, thin metal hooks and braided thread and tied the thread to the hooks. Once this was done, he swung both of the hooks, by the thread, at the wires. The metal was instantly abuzz with electric power, but the threads were unharmed except for some singing, which could ruin the whole plan if he didn't act fast. He pulled them apart, and was rewarded with the sight of the wires moving apart to create a gap through which the precious item could be attained. Once the space was large enough, he reached through with one black gloved hand and took it easily, pocketing it once it was past the sizzling wires. A noise disturbed him. He whirled around, thinking that the guards had found him.

Another sight greeted his startled eyes. Ten men had surrounded him. They didn't have the insignia of the company that worked here, but instead wore a split black and orange bodysuit. Masks with the same thing covered their faces, with only slits to see through. Without any prior warning, they launched to the attack!

Robin was used to dealing with one enemy at a time, but these ones wouldn't let him. They used complex strategies that must have taken months to perfect, and their abilities seemed perfect. Robin took out three before he saw their weaknesses. They were very fast, but they blocked moves far too slowly. He used this to his advantage and soon knocked out another. Four advanced on him quickly and he dropped them with several jump kicks in the right places. The final one he sent flying into the wires. Electricity took care of him.

He was about to leave when he noticed sparks flying off of the last one. That sparked his curiosity (pardon the pun) and he went to investigate. He took off the mask and…

There was no face. All that was there were wires and... a video screen. They were robots. That was odd. It was even odder when the screen flickered and lit up. An unfamiliar face greeted him. It had a mask identical to the ones that the robots had been wearing, except for the fact that one eye was in shadow and not quite visible.

"Hello, Robin." the figure said. "Don't look so surprised. I've been keeping track of you for quite some time now. By the way, you did a good job on those robots." Before Robin could say a word, the screen went blank. Footsteps sounded in one of the corridors, and he knew that it was time to leave.

He retraced his route up to a point, then took a sharp left at a cross in the hallways. That took him to a back gate, already well greased and ready to go. He was gone before you could blink. He traveled quickly, paranoid that the guards had found his trail and were following him. His pace only decreased in speed when he was reasonably far away. His breath came in short bursts as he rested from his exertion.

After a short time, he found that he had been found. However, this person wasn't at all what he had expected. A figure in a billowing blue cloak with the hood up tapped lightly onto the roof; his? her? hood up so that he couldn't see the face. He stood up. There was no point in running when he had already been found, and by someone unexpected.

"Hello. Name's Robin. And you?"


	6. Chapter 6

Beast Boy opened his eyes with a groan. He wondered, irrationally, why he had to be the one with the beasty powers. Why couldn't someone else be special? He didn't want to be, that was for sure. This meant that he was green, and was allergic to any type of meat whatsoever, including fish. That is, until he became that... that _thing_. He always threw up afterwards. That was a given; even if the beast didn't eat meat, he would still throw up, because having your stomach move around in your body isn't going to help matters at all. Especially if you just ate.

His stomach heaved, and he stopped thinking about anything other than trying very hard not to see the color of his stomach contents. After the final, painful gurgles stopped, Beast Boy inched himself into a stting postion... more or less. He didn't know if lying with your back propped up against a wall was considered 'sitting'. Probably. He then decided that finding a decent water supply was his current top priory right now. It was a good thing that it was around midnight, because no one cared then if you looked green and were staggering around. A lot of people looked the same way, after all.

After walking around a bit, he found a coke machine in a dim little cafe. He looked around quickly before becoming a snake and reaching up through the little flap to grab three, four, five bottles of Aquafina water. He checked the selection and snagged several cokes before pulling them back through the flap and becoming human again. He stuck them under his arm and walked, whistling, out the door. No one had payed any attention to him whatsoever, which was all to the good.

Beast Boy parked himself in a nearby alley and drank two of the waters as fast as he could. This turned out to be a mistake. Five minutes later he was rolling around on the ground, clutching his stomach. He resolved to never drink that fast again. His stomach growled, and he remembered that he didn't have anything at all in his poor stomach. He wished that he had a good video game to take his mind off of things. It wasn't as if he had money, after all.

The luck goddess turned her back on him after that. He wasn't able to get a single meal and he had to carefully limit his drinks. He might not have such luck again. The time passed extremely slowly, or so it seemed. He didn't have a watch, so that made it a little harder to tell time. All he had to go by was the moon and stars. The moon was a ways past her zenith. Morning would come soon. He wished that his life were a little easier.

Beast Boy was looking around for an alley to hid in when he tripped over some uneven ground and fell hard. He crawled towards the nearest corner; his head was already getting light. He must have gotten himself a concussion or something. As he curled up in a little ball in a corner, he wondered, _whose stupid idea it was to live in the city, anyway_? Just before all consious thought and sight vanished into darkness, he thought of an answer. _Me_.


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for all of the reviews, and I hope you give more! I would also like to thank those who reviewed for every chapter. I appreciate it.

The night seemed never ending, and Starfire wondered if there was even a sun that this planet revolved around. The stars didn't move, and neither did the moon. Light from the streets below made it nearly impossible to see the celestial lights in the night sky. She wished to go up there, but already her strength was fading, and she was running out of cheerful things to think of. Soon, she would fall if she didn't land.

She found herself distracted by something bright shooting across the sky. She knew that it wasn't a comet. The tail was wrong for that. She thought that it looked like a space ship, but wasn't sure. For all she knew, it was a figment of her imagination.

Her stomach complained loudly. She had seen a few natives eating food, and knew that she had to get something of nutritional value. Some of the stuff looked fairly greasy and inedible. It must have been fairly liked, for she had seen quite a few choking it down with apparent enjoyment. The only good virtue she saw in it was that it was food. It had wilted plants, greasy meat, soggy bread and who knew what else! She shuddered at the very thought of even trying to digest the stuff. While if someone offered it to her, she would reject, but she absolutely had to have food… and soon.

At this point, Starfire's happy thoughts decided to vanish from her mind and sent her plummeting towards the ground. She managed a last-minute maneuver that saved her from several broken and/or sprained bones. After finding a rather unsteady perch on the edge of a building, she thought about moving to a different spot in the city. She was sure that at least three people had seen her, and didn't want to draw even more attention to herself than she already had. She went a ways, rested, and then carried on. The rests became more and more frequent as she encountered sharp pains in her stomach from lack of food in it. Finally, she sat down on a corner to think about her current position. Her options weren't looking very good. In fact, she had two she could either stay here and risk being found, or carry on in the way she had until she reached somewhere to spend the rest of the night.

Starfire thought about this for a while, then made a decision that would change the rest of her life. She heaved herself up and continued walking along the rooftops. Her feet grew sore; she was unaccustomed to walking. The night seemed to stretch on into eternity as she walked and walked. Her vision blurred. She didn't know why until she felt hot tears slide down her face. They splashed onto the ground, creating tiny puddles that were left behind her. She looked back and saw that she had a trail of tears.

After what seemed like hours, she came across two figures standing on the roof ahead. They seemed to be talking. She stumbled over a jut in the roof and fell hard. This made a noise that seemed particularly quiet, but both figures turned. She saw only one face. It had a small mask covering both eyes. Her heart skipped several beats.


	8. Chapter 8

I'm sorry I took such a long time in updating... I got a little lazy. grins sheepishly

Raven paused, standing before this dark stranger, this Robin, who had so rashly given her his name. She could have been anyone; one working for the police, the museums, the labs… the possibilities were endless. And he had still told her what it was without a single thought as to the consequences! He was irrational and, apparently, unpredictable. She pondered this in a few quick seconds and made her decision.

"Raven."

"Raven? Not the dark winged horror of the night? Bringer of evil? Forbearer of death? A bad omen?" He had, it seemed, a sense of humor. His lips curved into an ironic smile.

"Yes." She didn't wish to carry this conversation on any longer. She turned to go.

He caught her arm in a surprisingly strong grip for such a skinny boy. "Don't go, we haven't even made intelligent conversation. We haven't talked of such things like, for example, why one such as yourself is out, wandering the cold, empty streets alone when you could be chatting with a pleasant guy such as me." Ah, so he wished to try a pick-up line. She was no flighty, blonde airhead. She saw right through his smooth speech. She didn't want a bit of it. She twisted his arm around until he winced ever so slightly and let go. He rubbed his elbow.

"Very clever. I'm sure that another girl would fall for it and you would spend the rest of the night hanging off of your arm, begging you to spend a week with her. I, however, am not one of those silly, bubble headed _children_." She spat the word in contempt. She had seen these girls, and hated them first sight.

If he was disappointed, he did a good job of covering it. She couldn't feel it, even with her Empathy. " Well, then, we could talk of something more sophisticated, like why you are out on a night like this when you could be in a nice, snug café reading a book with a hot cup of tea at your side. I have seen your type before, you know. Hanging around bookshops and cafes, carrying around thick books of Poe, drinking lots of tea… the list goes on, but I wouldn't wish to be a bore."

"You already are. Go away before I decide that you're far too annoying and make you leave. With force, if necessary."

He just grinned. She simply could not stand his attitude! It was far too much. Her temper couldn't take much more of this! She turned away and murmured her mantra, her soothing chant of three words spoken over and over.

"What's that?" two words broke her concentration and destroyed her already-fragile peace.

"What's that? What's that? Is that all you can say? Can you not recognize a chant, meant for soothing the temper and the mind?"

"I really didn-" he tried to inject, but Raven completely ran him over.

"And really, you haven't heard of me by now? I thought the news had spread all over town! Did you just pretend to not so you could turn me in? I'm wanted, you know. Wanted all over town for explosions, huge catastrophes, and 'accidents' that were far too related to be coincidence? I was responsible! And yet you say you didn't know me. When my description is printed in neat, small little letters every other block? How can you not? And I know you. You- the little thief wanted for more than a few acts of thievery; chips, technology, artifacts, antiques- you don't spare anyone! Shouldn't you be on the lookout for wanted posters?" She stopped for breath. While she was speaking, she had grown. Her cloak spread out over several meters, and she was far, far taller than him by now. Red eyes gleamed brightly in the shadow of her hood.

He started talking while she regained breath. "I didn't say that I never knew you; in fact, that's the opposite of the truth! I did see those wanted ads. They couldn't get a photo of you, but when you appeared, you matched the description fairly well. I decided to talk to you since you were a fellow… criminal, I suppose. And I apologize for the line. I'm used to picking pretty ladies up and them not objecting. Sorry." She blinked, but he wasn't finished. "I had no idea that the chant was to calm your nerves. I've never encountered anyone quite like you. If there were a stereotype for powerful Goths, you would be one of those people to look at it and laugh. Well, get as close as you can to being amused." His eyes twinkled, and she sensed sincerity.

"Well, if you put forth that apology in such a flowery, eloquent way, I suppose I should do the same. You had no warning whatsoever, and I turned on you. Actually, you did have a warning, and you refused to acknowledge it. Thus, I have nothing to be sorry for. I do, on the other hand, accept your swift apology, and I will say it formally. I accept you apology that stated quite clearly that you have no idea what goes on in the outside world… you know, outside of the earth."

"Just wondering… how would you know?"

"I'm a half demon, of course. Child of the below and of the above."

His face went through a series of rapid emotions. It went past fear, anger, startlement, shock, and finally settled on shocked bewilderment. She had disintegrated his cool, emotionless mask sometime in the middle of the conversation. He managed to get his voice back. That was a plus; most people went into a state of shocked coma and couldn't speak for a week. "Does that mean you're practicing torturing me to be fully adept at it when you're assigned to me when I die? Just so you know, I need no physical, just verbal from you. Your tongue is the harshest I've ever heard!" Not only was it unexpected speech, it was unexpected humor!

She felt her face start to crack, so she allowed it a small smile. Even so, it was hidden in the shadows of her hood. Then he asked the unexpected. "What's under that hood of yours?" She sighed. He would have to know eventually. She pulled it back. His eyes grew slightly wide.

Violet hair flowed past her shoulders. On her forehead was a small ruby diamond. Her eyes were also purple, and she wore a little smile. It was incredibly small; he could barely notice that it was there. She was beautiful. He wished he had a camera. Instead, he fixed his mind upon the image and stored it away in his memory.

"Wow."

"Not what you were expecting the face of a demon to be? Well, my father's face can be an angel's, but his real face is that of one of the most evil demons. His real face is of himself. Now, this is my real face. I am part human, you know." Before she could continue, there was a sound. It was so slight, she didn't know if Robin had heard.

But he had. They both turned at the sound. It was a girl, looking like no other woman in the world, and she couldn't have been older than either of them. Robin's eyes were fixed on one thing- her face. His own face showed surprise, and hidden deep inside him was something else. It was so far in that Raven could barely feel it, and she was an Empath.

Robin felt love for this girl. The thing was, he wouldn't realize it for a long time.

I just loved Raven with long hair, so she has it here. My AU, my rules! (with suggestions, of course)


	9. Chapter 9

Cyborg's eyes really didn't want to register the odd fact. No one had green skin. Well… apparently this boy did. He considered, briefly, that maybe the shade was a trick of the light. He looked at himself. He seemed to be the proper color. Looking back at the kid, he saw that he was underfed and looked rather sick. If it had been any other kid, with normal skin, he might have passed him by. But this one was _unique,_ and he wanted to study him. Unfortunately, he didn't have a lab.

The kid groaned. He nudged him with a foot.

"Um… hello? Anyone in there?" His attempts to get a reaction seemed futile.

"Mmmm… five more minutes…" He nearly laughed, but stopped himself. This kid was obviously delirious. That was bad. At least, he thought it was. The kid opened his eyes.

"Who the heck're you?" The kid seemed all right now. He certainly sounded ok.

"I'm Cyborg. You're on the freezing cold concrete because…?"

"I passed out. What else?" He suddenly winced and held his stomach. "Got any tofu? I'm really, really, really hungry!"

The kid was nuts! "Tofu? You want that gunk? It's not good for ya! You need a steak!" the kid's face, if possible, turned an even deeper shade of green.

"Don't make me sick! I'm a vegetarian! I don't eat meat! Besides, tofu has a lot of healthy stuff in it."

"Like what? Gunk?"

"Vitamins! The same stuff you get from meat, except better! They add more stuff, you know! It's better for you!"

"Who eats it other than you?"

"The Japanese! The Chinese! Ever had egg drop soup?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, guess what! That soup has tofu in it!"

"Gross!"

"Not gross! Good! It's very good! And they make tofu bacon, and steak…"

"Now you're trying to gross me out! Steak is so much better!"

"Have you any idea how much meat fat clogs your arteries? It makes you fat! Now that is gross!"

"Fine! I can take you to a restaurant. One of those tiny pizzerias, where they won't notice that you're green and I'm half machine."

This made the boy actually look at Cyborg. "That's so…"

Cyborg winced.

"Cool! That rocks! You have no idea how much I envy you! I wanna be a cyborg! I only have this stupid animal power and-" he stopped.

"Animal power? Don't stop. Keep talkin'! Now that sounds cool. What can ya' do?"

"Well…" he seemed shy now. "I can change into different animals. Like gorillas, and snakes, and horses…" he grew confidence. "I can even change into a pterodactyl. Look!"

He leaped off the ground.

Something happened, and there was suddenly an extinct bird hovering over Cyborg's shoulder. his jaw dropped for the second time that night.

"Now that is totally awesome! You're homeless, right?" The wedge- shaped head nodded. "Cool! You can come with me and-"

The boy changed into a human again. "Live with you? Really?"

"Actually, I was gonna say, 'we can be homeless together', but that works too."

"Rats. I don't have a home. I did, once, but that was a long time ago. At a zoo. I hated that place…"

"Dude, if you don't wanna talk about, don't. By the way, what's your name?"

"Garfield. Call me… Beast Boy."

Cyborg picked up the charger and they set off in search of a Chinese restaurant.


	10. Chapter 10

Starfire blushed, an incredible deep red. She had no idea what to say. In fact, she wouldn't be able to understand what they were saying! She decided to give it a try anyway and rose to her feet as gracefully as she could with a scraped knee.

"I am Starfire, from the planet Tamaran. Can you help me?" As she had suspected, they didn't understand. Then the handsome one with the mask spoke in a garbled language to the other. She responded in an angry voice, but her companion was firm. She came over to Starfire and reached out a hand. Starfire closed her eyes as the woman touched her forehead. A sudden torrent of thoughts and knowledge flooded her mind.

She opened her eyes to find herself on the ground with a headache such as she had never experienced before.

"My head feels like a _stelke_ of _globwarg snarkwots_ are rampaging through it." she complained and stood up again.

"It's a side effect. What's a stelk of globwrom snarkot?" The purple haired lady asked.

"_Stelke _of _globwarg snarkwots_. They are…" she floundered for an explanation. Unexpectedly, her head swam and she found herself grabbing for support. The closest thing was the masked one's arm. She clung on grimly as her balance failed to hold her up. Something happened; it seemed as if something had been pulled from her mind and put elsewhere. He blinked and was no longer the stable rock of support he had been.

"What is it?"

"She gave me information, I think. Like you did. But I thought only you could do it?"

"It may be left over from the actual spell. What did she give you?"

"I know her name, where she is from, and her life story. It's in a big jumble, though."

"Probably because she's never done it before. Tell me." During this, Starfire had let go and sat down with a thump to listen and correct.

"Her name is Koriand'r. She's from the planet Tamaran. She's of the royal line and was going to be queen. Her sister, who had been in jail, was released and told everyone that Koriand'r had done the crime to get her sister in trouble, so she could get the throne. She got kicked off the planet and exiled for being a traitor to the crown. Impressive life story."

Starfire felt this was the time to give corrections. "In your language, my name is Starfire. Everything else is correct. What are your names, please?"

"I'm Robin, and this is Raven."

"What planet is this?"

"Earth. Anything else?"

"Would you help me? I know the language now, but I have nothing to barter or buy with; at least, nothing that you would find valuable."

Raven started to object, but Robin stopped her. "She's new to the planet. Why not? I mean, not much harm could come from this. From what I've seen, she's very shy and wouldn't be able to take care of herself."

"Fine." She pulled her hood back up so it was impossible to see the glare she directed at him. Starfire smiled happily and they set off to tell her about this world.

Raven was not pleased.


	11. Chapter 11

Really sorry about the delay, I was busy! But here's chapter 16, folks.

After about half an hour of talking, Beast Boy, or 'BB', as his new friend called him, and Cyborg had found several common topics of interest.

"Dude! That new racing game rocks! I played it at some arcade!" might just be a phrase that showed up sometime during their conversation. (A/N: I know nothing about video games or cars, so I can't outline their conversations in detail.) They talked on and on about the newest video games, technology, and cars that were going around. Both were very happy to have found someone that accepted them for who they were. The topic finally changed to history. Specifically, personal history.

"My dad was a famous scientist, back in the day, and I got in a bad accident. Most o' my body was damaged in some way, and I was blind in one eye. He decided to patch me up with some o' his new tech, and it worked. Eventually, I decided that I was gonna live on my own, so I left. I haven't heard from my family since the day I left. I was taken in by this real bastard who just used me. I didn't get paid or nothin'. He just forced me to do stuff by cutting a lot o' my circuits that held my mind together. I couldn't think for myself. He covered up my skin, so people wouldn't see a hybrid, an' I worked for him for years as a slave. It was just tonight that I woke up. I can't get to my family 'cause I don't have enough power in me to go that long way. That's were this comes in." He hefted the recharger. "I'm planning on going back to my dad's place after I charge up and get you to a place to eat." He grinned down at the green kid. "That's my story. Your turn."

BB sighed and slouched a bit. "Okay. First off, how I got green and got the animal stuff. When I was really little, I was in Africa with my mom and dad. I got sick somehow, and it was a fatal disease. My parents got a cure from some wise man in a tribe, but it turned me green. The animal thing was either a side effect or was already in me. I have no clue. Well, the Doom Patrol took me in, but I couldn't follow orders real well. They yelled at me for not doing as I was told, so I ran away. I got to a city and thought that I could get a job at the circus, but a zoo found me first. I was a spectacle to be laughed at and teased. It was horrible. I finally got away, and have been stealing for a living. Not very much, of course, and waaaay less that what's usual around here. So I've been eking out a miserable living. Poor little Garfield, all alone, in the big, wide, cruel world…" He looked up at his huge companion with big, hopeless eyes. "Could you leave me to starve?" he asked in a small voice.

Cyborg laughed. "Why do ya think I'm taking you to a pizza place, B? Charity? You're my new buddy!"

BB perked up. It was obvious that he had been faking; his acting skills were horrible. "Sweet! Thanks, Cy!"

Wandering the streets, they found a dark little pizza place. It looked like it was almost out of business. They looked at the prices and decided that they could get something. It was fairly cheap. The black girl behind the counter gave them a bored look. She didn't take any shocked second glances. Her hair was in little puffballs on the top of her head, and she was fairly pretty. She didn't wear a uniform, but wore a yellow and black striped shirt and black pants. A nametag identified her as 'Bumblebee'.

"What can I get you tonight, boys?" She leaned on the counter, and looked just a tad interested. "Y'know, you're the first newcomers in a week. How 'bout a freebie? We don't really need the money."

"Ah… okay!" Cyborg grinned at her. "One free pepperoni pizza, please."

"NO! No WAY am I eating pepperoni! Soy-cheese pizza!"

"Dude! I am not eating that shit! It's pepperoni!"

They continued to fight over what kind of pizza it would be until Bumblebee interjected a statement. "You _can_ get a half-and-half pizza, you know. Much easier. Of course, it'll take longer, but it'll have to cook. Just take a seat anywhere. I'll take care of it, Sparky. Hold your horses."

Cyborg's mouth dropped. "_Sparky? _My _name_ is _Cyborg!_"

"Right… _Sparky_." Cyborg ground his teeth together audibly. BB grabbed his hand and went over to a booth.

He could barely stifle a grin. "At least she isn't making fun of your looks. Hey, we got a free pizza, right?"

"Yeah… it's just… why that?"

Before BB could answer, three teens walked in the door, laughing and talking loudly to each other. They fell silent as soon as they spotted Cyborg and Beast Boy.

"Who're you?" declared one, with bubble-gum pink hair and eyes, and grey skin. She wore a black dress with a purple collar and black boots. Her hair was in the air with two black metal bands surrounding it.

Another one spoke up. "You're sitting at _our_ table, snot-bags." He was about two feet tall and wore a green jumpsuit. A small metal pack was on his back.

Cyborg looked at them. "There've got to be at least a dozen tables here. Sit somewhere else for once."

The short one growled at them. "Why should we, huh?" Long metal legs sprang out

of the pack and lifted him up. "Anyway, this is the HIVE's personal pizza place. You don't have a right here, dirt bags!"

Bumblebee stepped in. "Gizmo, leave off. I said they could eat here, and I said they could sit at any table. By the by," and now she turned to the two sitting at the table, "your pizza's ready." She was holding a platter above her head, and two paper plates were in her hand. She walked over to their table and set it down. "What's your name, short stuff?" she asked BB.

"Beast Boy! Cy calls me BB or B, though."

"Thanks, B. OK, HIVE students, what'll you be having tonight?"

They ordered and sat at a table far away from the two innocent bystanders.

"K, Mammoth… go and…" were all that Cyborg and BB could catch. Cy had already finished his half, but had cautioned BB to eat rather slowly, unless he wanted a really bad stomachache.

"How come you didn't eat slow?" complained BB.

"Cause I am the one with the iron stomach and you haven't eaten in days. Good enough?"

BB just grumbled and reached out to take his second slice, but Mammoth walked by and picked up the pizza pan.

"I'm doing kitchen duty tonight." he rumbled meanly as he walked back to his table. There was a moment of laughter, but then the three came charging over with angry expressions.

"What was on that pizza?" the girl shouted.

"Soy cheese. I happen to be a vegetarian." retorted BB. "That was my first meal in days. I hope you didn't throw it away."

They could hear Mammoth talking to Bumblebee about 'spoiled cheese'. She looked at him and the group around the table.

"Mammoth, did you steal their pizza?"

"Uh…"

"Thought so. Go give it back. That kid hasn't eaten in days. How would you feel?"

He nodded sadly and took the pizza back.

"Mammoth, you are such a push-over!" Gizmo snapped. Mammoth hung his head.

"Sorry." he mumbled.

BB eagerly snagged a slice from the pan and dug in, humming happily under his breath. Gizmo sent a mechanical leg forward and knocked the pan off of the table, ruining the pizza inside. BB swallowed the last bite and glared at the kid. "Dude!" BB cried. Gizmo smirked.

"What're _you_ gonna do about it, greenie?"

In response, BB turned into a wolf and leapt at the small genius. Gizmo lunged out of the way… just in time, for jaws full of razor-sharp teeth snapped shut right where Gizmo's hand had been just seconds before. He was furious.

"Hey!" he shrieked. "You could have killed me!"

BB returned to his human self. "No. You would have just lost a hand. You could just make a new one, right?" He could barely control his temper.

The girl looked sideways at Cyborg. "I'm Jinx. Who're you?"

Cyborg was surprised for a moment, but quickly replied. "Cyborg." They were soon engaged in a friendly conversation. It finally turned to HIVE.

"What is that place, anyway?" Cyborg asked.

"It's a school for villains. Wanna join?" asked Jinx. "You might be in the top class, where I am, along with brainy and Neanderthal over there." Gizmo had fired small missiles at BB, and Mammoth watched eagerly, ready to step in if necessary. BB responded with a flying attack by pterodactyl, and he easily dodged all missiles fired at him.

Everyone's attention was taken away from what they were doing, be it talk or fight, as the door opened to show three teens, two girls and one masked boy.


	12. Chapter 12

Ahaha! I have finally updated! My Icicle story will update soon as well, and if you wish to read my original work, please check out my author page to find my homepage, because this stupid thing won't let me put the address of my journal on! And now...

Raven grumbled as Robin and Starfire struck up a conversation. They had been walking in silence for a few minutes, and Raven had preferred it that way. That girl was far too happy and naïve. She hated it. Every inch of Starfire's body just screamed 'cheerful!' She listened intently to Robin and gave eager responses to whatever he had said just moments before. So aggravating! Why couldn't the girl be less happy and more normal?

The conversation changed and Raven found herself listening. It was now about food, and what to trust. He said that fast food restaurants, for example, had horrible food. He hated them with a passion. Pizza, on the other hand, had an entire food group to itself. Most restaurants were all right, as long as they were sit down. As he prepared to move on to a different subject, Starfire interjected a question.

"What is 'pizza'? I can see the word in the eye of my mind, but I cannot see the object itself. It is an edible delight, yes?" Robin, not for the first time, was startled at the odd way that she phrased things.

"Yeah, close enough. Pizza is a round, flat bread covered with tomato sauce and various toppings. Want to go get some?" He asked the two girls. Starfire nodded, eager. Raven paused for a moment, but then followed the younger girl's example. Robin smiled broadly. "Right then. I know just the place!" With that, he strode off, exuberant for some reason. Raven wondered what was so wonderful about this _particular_ pizza parlor when they arrived at it. It was virtually non-existent, and Raven quirked an eyebrow at it. It tried very hard to blend in with its surroundings, and it almost succeeded. There was a door in the wall and that was the only indication that a building was actually there. Robin practically wrenched the door handle off in his haste to get inside. The door opened.

Robin's face fell.

Raven peered over his shoulder and was slightly surprised to see that the room was completely bare of any people and the smell of baking pizza. The place was completely deserted. She entered and looked around; she like it how it was. Nothing could distract her here.

Two dozen robots came from nowhere, and she regretted thinking that. They were curious things, half black and half orange. She randomly wondered if it was October. She had no more time to think as they attacked without warning. They swarmed to capture Raven and her companions, but Robin had disabled three without seeming to think about it. She held back at first, but joined the boy in pulverizing the things as one launched itself at her. Starfire hung by the door, her eyes flicking back and forth between Robin and the robots he combated. Raven thought she was afraid, and snorted quietly to herself. _Foolish girl_.

Her opinion of her changed abruptly as the alien charged five of the robots with a yell and knocked them down like nine pins. She whipped around and smashed in the face of one sneaking up behind her. It fell with a crackle of electricity. The biggest surprise came when Starfire _flew into the air_ and launched a barrage of what looked like green lights from her hands that blew up the robots upon contact. A cloud of dust arose as one of them was rammed up into the wall by the slender girl. When it had cleared, she stood amid a wreckage of broken robots, smashed like porcelain dolls. Robin knocked the head of the last one clear across the room and stared, stunned, at the alien girl who had defeated more than half of the electric machines.

He got over his shock and said to the girls, "That was too easy." Then he ran over to one of the robots whose face had not been destroyed. He took off the mask and looked grimly at a video screen. It flickered on to show a man with the same mask as the robots, but with an eye showing on the orange side. The black was in shadow. Before the figure could speak, Robin gave an angry question.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"I am Slade. Robin, remember this- do not underestimate me." The screen shut off. Robin swore colorfully and kicked the side of the robot. He glared at it, then whirled around and stomped out of the pizzeria. Starfire followed instantly, but, once again, Raven hesitated to go with them. How could she know whether to trust them or not? How could she know if they would leave her behind? She didn't like this feeling of indecision, so she, too, swore and followed the two of them out into the chilly night.

They were silent while walking the streets until Raven spoke for the first time.

"Where are we going?" This was greeted with a smile from Robin.

"To another pizza place. Where else?" She could find no suitable response. He struck up another topic and aimed it at her.

"Why are you so secretive, wearing that hood and hiding your face?"

She responded with another question. "Why do _you_ wear a mask?" It was unexpected, and he blinked.

"To hide my identity."

"Does that answer your question?" she asked, before thinking of another topic. This was the most that she had spoken in years, other than her first argument with Robin. "Weren't you with Batman a while back? Why did you split?" he was once again startled.

"Well, I couldn't stand being a sidekick, and I wasn't very good at the hero thing. My solution?" and here he smiled, "I ran away. Simple as that. I wanted to see what the other side did for a change. He didn't approve, of course, but I changed cities. He couldn't do a thing to stop me." He grinned. "I'm a solitary bird."

She nodded and smiled at the pun, glad that he couldn't see it, for her hood concealed her face. They continued to walk along the dark street. Raven thought about the fact that so much could happen in one night.

Silence swathed the night once again, and Raven continued to think on how the night was going. She was concentrating so hard on the inside that Robin had to say, "We're here" three times before she noticed.

They stood before a small pizza place, and through the floor-to-ceiling windows they could see a fight going on between a short kid with major tech and a green, shapeshifting boy while a huge man waited right next to them. Nearby, a half man and half machine stood talking to a pink haired girl.

The three teens entered, and all inside stopped what they were doing to turn and look.


	13. Chapter 13

And here we are! Chapter 13!

Beast Boy's gaze swung from the beautiful red-haired girl to the masked boy to the mysterious figure enveloped in a deep blue cloak. Before he could speak, however, Bumblebee was right in front of the potential customers.

"Real sorry 'bout the kids, but what do you want?" Both BB and Gizmo glared at her for being called 'kids'.

"Ah, how about having a medium pepperoni pizza?" The question was directed at the two ladies. The red-head blinked a bit, thought, and then accepted cheerfully. The cloaked figure just shrugged.

"Whatever."

The masked boy nodded and ordered.

"Who're you guys?" Jinx asked casually, as if she met up with floating girls and black-clad, secretive individuals everyday.

"I'm Robin, this is Starfire, and this is-"

"Raven. I can speak for myself, you know."

There was a pause, and then Jinx smiled. "Robin, as in 'Batman and Robin'?

There was another pause, during which Robin muttered something along the lines of 'knew I should have changed my name…', but responded with a simple, "We split."

Cyborg began introductions, because Robin was looking a little uncomfortable with the whole thing. "I'm Cyborg, an' the grass stain over there's called Beast Boy."

"Hey!" BB cried indignantly.

Jinx picked up where he had left off. "I'm Jinx, genius over there's Gizmo, and the big guy's Mammoth. We're from the HIVE." She grinned widely.

"HIVE? Isn't that that academy? The one for criminals?" That was Raven, and Robin looked at her, appearing just a little shocked. Apparently she didn't enjoy talking much.

"Yep. Wanna join?"

"No." With that, Raven fell silent. Beast Boy had to stare at her, and she glared at him. He felt like disappearing; it wasn't nice to be on the receiving end of that look. He was just curious!

Their pizza arrived, and the three chose a booth close to everyone else. BB couldn't help but steal glances at the cloaked girl, wondering why she kept herself hidden. He wondered if she was pretty, and just hiding it, or ugly, and afraid to show her face. He couldn't see how she could be ugly, with that nice a voice.

He mentally slapped himself. He was acting like a schoolgirl, with this brand new infatuation! He was just curious, and that was it!

The answer about whether she was good-looking or not came at the same time that the pizza did. She pulled off her hood to eat, and he found himself staring even more. He couldn't help it!

The way her violet hair framed her face, the way her eyes sparked with an emotion akin to impatience… _Beast Boy's got a crush,_ whispered a tiny voice in the back of his mind.

"Eeh… Beast Boy? You OK?" Cyborg interjected into his dreamland.

"Yeah! Perfectly! …why?"

"Because you've been staring at that girl for over ten minutes. And I don't think that she's too happy about it." He stated this plainly, and rather quietly, as Raven stormed over.

"Why are you staring at me?" she demanded of Beast Boy. He thought quickly, and decided to tell the truth.

"You're really beautiful." Then he took a dive off of the deep end. "Wanna go out with me?"

Raven blinked, opened her mouth, and then shut it again. Apparently, he had said this loud enough so that the entire room could hear, because you could cut the silence with a spoon.


End file.
